Michigan State suspends prof who called GOP racists, rapists

A Michigan State University professor who began class last week by deriding all Republicans as cheap racists who are raping the country has been suspended for the duration of the semester.

MSU administrators announced on Thursday that William Penn, an award-winning creative writing professor, would not be teaching for the rest of semester after his hate-filled rant was captured on video and leaked to the press. The media attention prompted MSU to launch a speedy investigation, which concluded that Penn had indeed acted inappropriately.

“On Aug. 29, during your Literatures, Cultures, Identities course, Professor William Penn made comments he has acknowledged were inappropriate, disrespectful and offensive and may have negatively affected the learning environment,” wrote Karin Wurst, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, in an email to students. “As a result, Penn’s duties have been reassigned, and he will not be teaching this semester. A new instructor is being assigned to your course.”

A teaching assistant read the message aloud to students in the class on Thursday. Derek Wright, an MSU junior who was in the classroom, said there was “not a sad face in the room,” in a statement to The State News.

Penn’s comments irritated several members of the board of trustees of MSU, who plan to raise the issue at their next meeting, according to Campus Reform.